In Tools of Destruction it is used as a device, in Before the Nexus as a gadget, though it is otherwise thrown from a Groovitron Glove. In Full Frontal Assault, it is possible to use it as a Groovitron Mine too.

In Tools of Destruction, the Golden Groovitron upgrade could be purchased in challenge mode, giving it unlimited ammo. In A Crack in Time, the Groovitron Glove can be upgraded to the Groovibomb Glove with use (which exploded upon expiry), and the Omega Groovibomb Glove upgrade could be purchased in challenge mode.

Contents

History

Tools of Destruction

Groovitrons became available upon reaching the spaceport in Cobalia, and could be purchased from a device vendor for 500 bolts each. While the Groovitron could not be upgraded with use due to being a device, in challenge mode, the Golden Groovitron upgrade could be purchased for 2,000,000 raritanium, giving it unlimited ammo.

A Crack in Time

The Groovitron Glove could be purchased upon reaching the Agorian Battleplex for 22,000 bolts (or 11,000 bolts if the player had a Tools of Destruction save). At level 5, it would be upgraded to the Groovibomb Glove, play rock music instead of disco, and would drop the ground and explode when expiring. In challenge mode, the Omega Groovibomb Glove could be purchased for 332,000 bolts (or 249,000 bolts with a Tools of Destruction save).

Full Frontal Assault

The Groovitron Glove returned as a collectible in weapon pads, and with use, could be upgraded to the Alpha Groovitron Glove at level 3.

The Groovitron also appeared as the Groovitron Mine, sending a ball into the air whenever activated by a Grungoid.[1]

Into the Nexus

The Groovitron did not appear as a weapon, but was found in the museum on Igliak. When activated, it caused the Valkyries in the room to dance and also start causing the platforms to rise and fall. When the second button was pressed, the disco lights would come on, causing the Valkyries to change their dance style, and start to make more of the upper platforms move.

Characteristics

The Groovitron itself is a floating silver disco ball, which rotates in the air, blasts disco music and projects colored lights around the area. The Golden Groovitron appears identical other than its gold appearance rather than silver.

The Groovitron Glove is a silver and red glove, from which the Groovitron is contained on the back of the hand. The Groovibomb Glove is gold and red instead, and plays rock music rather than disco.

Combat

The Groovitron, when deployed, will rise in the air for a short period of time, immediately cause all enemies and allies to dance for its duration (though some bosses will only briefly be mesmerised before returning to normal). It is therefore a very strategic weapon, being useful at stopping enemies to buy the player some time in a tricky situation, or to begin a fight by allowing the player to defeat the more dangerous enemies in a group before then attacking the rest.

While the Golden Groovitron upgrade in Tools of Destruction is extremely useful (as it provides it with unlimited ammo), its high price means it should not be prioritized over other raritanium upgrades for other weapons.

When upgraded to the Groovibomb in A Crack in Time, the Groovitron itself will explode after expiring and deal damage to nearby enemies. While this is useful, this does not change how the Groovitron is used; it will still be used primarily to stop enemies briefly rather than being thrown specifically to damage them.

Behind the scenes

In an interview with IGN it was suggested that the Groovitron has been proposed for several Ratchet & Clank games but was scratched for being too powerful, or for being too difficult. In an interview with GamePro in July 2003, Colin Munson stated "For example, if we wanted a weapon that would make all the enemies in range dance to disco music, then we would need dancing animations for every enemy in the game."[2]

When the in-game language was switched to Japanese, the Groovitron had a whole different playlist, due to the fact that the Disco fever never hit Japan; instead, the playlist consisted of techno tracks, including a remix of Courtney Gears' Robots of the Galaxy, sang by the producer of the Japanese version, Roppyaku Tsurumi. Each Groovitron track also started out with someone saying 'Let's go to the party!' in English.

All of the tracks that the Groovitron played were the same speed in beats per minute. It is highly possible that they were beat-matched in order to fit the dances of the characters to all the tracks.